When people dream of Guadeloupe they imagine clear water and pristine beaches. The advantage of these islands though is the variety: you can also spend a day hiking in the Tropical Forest!
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INFO & PLANNING TIPS - GUADELOUPE TROPICAL FOREST
As you can see in the map, a big portion of the Guadeloupe Basse Terre island is covered in Tropical forest. It is situated on the volcanoes so it is a great place to hike. One of its main features are the Carbet falls, 3 big drops.
Thanks to the volcano peaks, clouds over the Caribbeans are blocked and the area gets a lot of rain, creating a beautiful and lush tropical forest.
You can easily access the area by yourself or book an organized day tour like I did (parking for the second fall indicated from prendre la direction de la deuxième chute du Carbet. Le parking se trouve tout en haut de la longue montée !
REVIEW FOR TRAVEL PLANNING ADDICTS - 4WD day tour Guadeloupe
I selected my self and paid fully for this activity. This review is based on my experience from December 2014.
- Company: SafariCaraib
- Tour: 4WD day tour
- Guide: nice guy but I was not fan of his driving and during the hike he stayed with the fastest ones and not the slowiest one (me) which I thought was not good in terms of safety
- Transportation: the jeep was in OK condition
- Food: after the hike we ate in a small restaurant in the forest. It was my best meal of the trip! Very local
- Organization - considering the traffic jams in Guadeloupe, it was quite well organized
- After the hike and lunch, we visited the Longueteau Rum domain (post to be written)
First we drove through a banana plantation
Before reaching the tropical forest our guide took use through a banana plantation. There are many on the 2 caribbean French islands: Guadeloupe and Martinique. But apparently it is way safer to work in the Guadeloupe plantation because there are no venimous animals on the island...
1st hike: to the natural warm pools
Our first stop was to hike down and then back up along the river. On the day of our tour it was pouring rain and the path was flooded: what an experience! At the end we did not relax in those pools because the river had become a torrent and the water was not that warm...
During the hike we spotted some yellow river crab. I had no idea there were crabs in river. I always associated them with the ocean...
Like it? Discover more photos from Guadeloupe that may make you pack your bags.
Walk to the Carbet falls
One of the most famous sights in Guadeloupe are the Carbet Falls: 3 very long drops in the middle of the tropical forest. There is a well maintained path to see the second drop (45min to 1hour return from the parking - wheelchair accessible - small fee to pay). It is very enjoyable although be careful because wet, it is quite slippery.
Leaves of the rainforest
What fascinated me the most in the forest was the size fo the leaves. So many shapes but all were gigantic. Look at those pictures:
Want to see MORE of GUADELOUPE?
Discover more things to do with planning information and photos in my online Guadeloupe Travel Guide.
Have you ever hiked under pouring rain?
Yes i live in Wales . Rhossili gower . Loving your guide